Susan Dart Butler facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Susan Dart Butler
Photo of Susan Dart Butler
Born	1888 Charleston, South Carolina
Died	June 24, 1959
Occupation	Librarian

Susan Dart Butler was an important American librarian. She also worked as a milliner, which means she made hats. She lived from 1888 to 1959. Susan Dart Butler helped create libraries for African American communities in the South. She worked hard to make sure everyone had access to books and learning.

Early Life and Education

Susan Dart was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1888. She was the oldest child of Reverend John Lewis Dart and Julia Pierre. She was named after her grandmother, Susan Fenwick. Her grandmother was able to buy her husband's freedom before the American Civil War. Susan's father, Reverend Dart, was a Baptist minister. He was born free and went to seminary school.

In 1895, Susan went to a private school. But there were too many students. So, her father started a new school. It was called the Charleston Normal and Industrial Institute. People in the area called it Dart Hall. This school was on their property. It could teach up to 150 African American children.

Susan went to Clark Atlanta University. Later, she moved to Boston. From 1908 to 1912, she studied at the McDowell Millinery School. In 1912, she married Nathaniel Lowe Butler. He was a building contractor and real estate agent. The couple moved back to Charleston. Susan worked as a milliner there until 1918. In 1918, she had her only child, Nathaniel Lowe Butler, Jr. She also helped start the Charleston Federation of Women's Clubs. This group worked to make community life better for young people in South Carolina.

Working for the Community

In 1917, Susan Butler became the treasurer of the Charleston branch of the NAACP. This was a very important role. The NAACP is a group that works for civil rights. One of their first goals was to have Black teachers teach Black students in schools. By 1920, the school district started hiring African American teachers.

In 1918, Susan stopped her hat-making business. She went back to her father's school, Dart Hall. Her father had passed away. She wanted to restart the kindergarten program there.

Creating Libraries for All

Susan Butler was also part of the Charleston Interracial Committee. She and other important women worked to convince people in Charleston that a library was needed. One of these women was Clelia McGowan. She was the city's first alderwoman. Ms. McGowan started sending "traveling libraries" around South Carolina.

Susan saw a young student at Dart Hall ask for a poetry book. The school did not have it. This made her realize how important libraries were. She led a group to check the books in local Black schools, churches, and groups. The survey found that many books were in bad shape.

In 1927, Susan Butler opened a reading room at Dart Hall. It was open three days a week for African Americans. This room had been used to print a newspaper before. Susan used books from her father's collection. She paid for the room's costs herself.

The Charleston Free Library was started in 1929. It received money from the Rosenwald Fund and the Carnegie Fund. Dart Hall helped the library get this money. The funds wanted to support libraries for Black people. The new library had two parts. One was for White people. The other, Dart Hall, was for Black people. White people used a temporary spot until their library was finished. Black people had to wait until July 1931. That's when the Charleston Free Library officially made Dart Hall a branch. The Dart family rented the building to Charleston County for just $1 a year. In 1952, the county bought it as a permanent branch.

Leading the Library

The Dart Hall branch had three African American librarians. About 3,600 books were available to borrow. Helen Virginia Stelle helped set up the new library system. She was very critical of the Dart Hall librarians. She thought the head librarian, Julia Macbeth, was not good enough.

Ms. Stelle believed Susan Butler would be a good librarian. But she thought the technical work would be too hard for her. So, Ms. Stelle suggested Susan go to Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia. Susan went there for training in library science. She also traveled to see how other libraries were run. When she returned in 1932, Susan Butler became the head librarian.

Ms. Stelle also thought that children's books should be very simple. She believed elementary students had limited reading skills. She often turned down requests for more challenging books for adults too. But Susan Butler disagreed. She told children to "pick something harder." She also got money from other sources. This helped her buy more challenging books. She also got many used books. Susan Butler worked with the librarians to create programs. These programs were for both children and adults. They encouraged people to read and use the library. This led to many more people visiting the library.

Susan Dart Butler retired from the library in May 1957. She passed away on June 24, 1959.